Whoa, what a day. Full of surprises.
When I got to campground yesterday I set up my small tent because it looked like rain and I wanted to stow my gear someplace and the car wasn’t there yet. While we did set up the big tent that attaches to car, I went a head and slept in the little tent since everything was already there. About 2:30am there was a massive clap of thunder followed by more of that and a heavy downpour. I’m not sure how long it lasted since I went back to sleep, enjoying the sound of the rain of the tent. I woke up at 5am and check everything in the tent and it was all dry.
Here’s our site.
The first item on the list was to hike up the to bath house for a shower. Our campsite is on the lake and the bath house is about an 8 minute walk. Here’s the walk.
I got cleaned up and went back down to our site where Bart was having his breakfast. I had a hankering for a toasted bagel to go with my oatmeal so I fired up the stove and used it as a toaster.
After breakfast it was the usual sorting and packing. It took a bit but we were on the road about 8am. I stopped at the bath house to fill my water jug and a truck pulled up and the people who were camped next to us got out. The woman, older, commented about the storm and I said I liked it. She got uppity about how she didn’t and how she is a light sleeper.
(Yeah, OK, so you were spending the night in a dry RV and I was sleeping in a tent but you didn’t like the storm because it disturbed your sleep in that cozy bed. I also notice that whenever anyone in her party needs to use a restroom, they won’t use the port-a-potties by the sites but drive to the bathroom house. I guess walking is just not part of the camping experience for some people.)
Anyway, I filled my water jug, checked the map, and hit the road. I stopped for gas in Dixon and because the weather looks rough, I put on my rain gear. I kept rolling down the highway. I am avoiding the freeways again so I am going through every small town and passing miles and miles and miles of mostly corn with a fair amount of soybeans. While I did get a few drops of rain, as usually happens, once the rain gear is on, the rain clears up.
In the town of Warren, Illinois I stopped next to a Dollar General and got out of my rain gear as it was warming up and I didn’t see any rain. I went behind the store to get this look at the scenery.
Near Gratiot, Wisconsin I pulled over to get another view of the scenery.
Just after noon I arrived in Mount Ida, a very small town and I was in need of a break. I saw a Baptist church and a cemetery and pulled over. I drank more water and snacked on some cookies while I wandered around the cemetery.
I kept going, enjoying the quiet roads end eventually arrived at Prairie Du Chien, WI and rode a couple bridges to cross the Mississippi into Iowa and the town of Marquette. With the route I am on I only got a quick look at the town but noticed they have one of those classic Mississippi River boats set up as a casino. I went north along the river before turning west and right away I saw the Effigy Mounds National Monument. I’d read about these a few days ago and while I didn’t want to take the time to hike the area, I did stop in and check out the museum and listen a bit to the ranger.
They had a designated place for motorcycles but a van was sort of blocking it so I parked away from everyone.
I crossed into Minnesota and right away I could see how tidy all the homes along the way looked. I noticed this in past years in rides, not only in this state but in many others back east. The lawns are well tended, there are gardens, and houses are in very good shape. That is not the rule in many other places.
The sky up ahead looked nasty and I was pretty sure I’d be hitting rain so in Le Roy, MN I stopped to put the rain gear back on. There as an advertising mural across the street.
And here’s a view on the street.
A few miles out of town I hit the rain. It was pretty heavy but then it got lighter and I think I was riding between the weather cells. I stopped for a photo.
I don’t remember exactly where it was but the navigator had just told me to turn left and while I was negotiating the maneuver I heard a really loud something. It was LOUD and at first I thought that my engine was spinning a bearing. It was so loud I could not hear what the navigator app was saying or the music that was playing. Geeeez, now what?
I pulled in the clutch, switch off the engine, and coasted into a bank parking lot. The sound was still there but started diminishing. Up on the bank building was a siren. Oh, uh-oh, a tornado warning. I’ve heard of these but never in person.
I pulled out my phone and checked the weather app. Yes, rain and a reference to a tornado warning. OK, now what?
I was about 15 miles from the campground so I headed there first. The weather seemed to break up a bit by the time I got there and I went ahead and rode to the site. Yuck, dirt rode, with lots of pot holes full of water and mud to boot. I found our site and parked.
I checked the weather app and read the tornado warning. Big rain and possible tornado until 10pm. My wife texted and she was still 2 hours to east and decided to get a motel and stay there and suggest I find somewhere else to stay.
One thing I did note was that the campground was nearly empty with only 4 RVs in the loop and apparently no one around. I looked at nearby motels in Albert Lea and decided to take a shot at the Quality Inn. When I arrived they asked if I had a reservation, which of course I did not, and after a bit they found me a room. Evidently, the tornado warning empties the local campgrounds and rooms are short. I got registered and they were very nice to told me I should just leave my motorcycle under the awning in front. I like that.
I hauled stuff up to my room and on the last trip the sky opened up and it rained, really, really hard. I was thinking about being in my tent at that campground and while I have been in that situation before and did OK, the prospect of navigating those roads after more rain was not appealing so I’m glad I decided to stay where I am. BTW, this is the first time I have ever stayed in a motel while on a motorcycle trip. I promise not to make a habit of it.
Now, what to eat? There aren’t any local options and all I have with me are my backpackers meals and I won’t be firing up my stove in the room. Hmmm, I took the water bottle out of my tank bag and it just barely fit in the microwave. Problem solved.
And dinner was excellent.
It was a 340+ mile day.
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